Why Boo Radley Is Protected At The End Of To Kill A Mockingbird (Not Made A Hero)

At the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley is protected by the sheriff, but he isn’t praised as a local hero. A staple of middle school and high school libraries, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is widely considered to be a quintessential work of American literature. Although it deals with serious subject matter like racism and sexual assault, To Kill a Mockingbird is noted for the warmth and levity with which Lee tells her story. The book was a landmark in the discussion of race and the justice system in America, and Atticus Finch has been elevated to folk hero status.